[RogerWilco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainbird Hi, after some technical problems ( I had to find the correct connection cable between my portable CD and the DAC) I yesterday had the cance to initially listen to what the 1.3 produces. I am mighty impressed how good that device sounds, esp. for the price I had to pay. As I never tried the unmodded version I am not sure how much the mods improve the sound quality. The sound stage it produces right from the start is very nice. The instruments and voices are displayed fine. The only complaint I could think of at the moment is that I missed teh mids and the base in the sound a bit. But after two hours that improved. I was told by Mr. Chan that this will happen but improve after some burn in time of the DAC. Lets see how the device performs after a week of listening. All in all I am very happy with the device. And again, up to what I have seen now, the price of the 1.3 is very competitive.

It really does take awhile to break in.Maybe mine took longer because of the power supply caps i replaced.I was still detecting some changes in sound after 400 hours.And lawrence is alot of help to people also--he loves to listen to music as much as we do.I have learned to trust his ear.

 

[jenhwa]

Barely surviving the E5 thread (bought a 2nd hand CEC TL-5100Z)

then in my hifi lust crazed state, reading this thread it's hard to stay cool and not be swayed by dac envy

alas, i have fallen ....now waiting anxiously mine to arrive from hongkong

 

[viconte]

Hi, i interested in getting the modded zhaolu too!

But what's the best way to connect it from my emu0404? any advice? thru optical or s/pdif? wat kind of cables r gd for the connection? Many thanks!

 

[jenhwa]

i'm getting the stock unit, part of a mini group buy organised in the echoloft forum

 

[soundaudio]

jenhwa,
Plase post review once you got your DAC1.3.Thanks.

 

[Sean H]

My Zhaolu has landed! Some of you may remember I acquired mine via a friend in China and so mine is in stock form but I did get the headphone upgrade. I've had it burning in for a little over 24 hours now. I must say it sounds fantastic and the headphone amp is excellent as well. Again it's an all discrete design and there are some pics of the amp upgrade posted earlier in this huge thread somehwere. Even now there isn't a glaring disparity between my Mapletree Audio Ear+ Purist HD/Ack dAck! 2.0 HI Res (drving Grado HF-1's) and the Zhaolu DAC/amp, it's a really nice sounding DAC and amp. I hope to burn it in for some time and make some comparisons to my other DAC's an damp. So far though, even in stock form, I have to say it's a great sounding unit. Initial random thoughts are it is fast, has tons of resolution, very open and layered sounding, and great deep bass. The headphone upgrade is excellent as well. Comparing the Zhaolu DAC/amp combo to Zhaolu DAC-->Mapletree tube amp proved inconclusive in early comparisons as they sounded surprisingly close in brief listening last night. My friend got a stock unit and while the stock headphone amp is actually surprisingly decent with Grado's, the headphone amp upgrade is discernably better sounding.

I think the unit is very handsome and solidly built. It's dead quiet and works great. It came with a short Optical/Toslink cable, manual in Chinese and a warranty card also in Chinese.

One thing I found interesting that I hadn't heard anyone mention is along with the RCA and balanced analog outputs it does have a set of RCA inputs, so I can actually use another DAC (like my Ack dAck) and use the Zhaolu strictly as a headphone amp only. Oh and mine is actually dubbed as Zhaolu D1.5, not 1.3. I believe that units shipped with the headphone amp upgrade are dubbed D1.5?? Not sure.

I plan to swap out the OPA2604 opamps for OPA627's (my personal favorite opamp and the DY2000 can't be found outside of Lawrence's personal mods) and have a question about that. I noticed there are three opamps which I assume are left/right/ground channels, correct? Correct me otherwise if not. Question is, do I need to buy three 627's or just two for the left/right channel? The 627's should bring even more magic to the Zhaolu probably in similar ways to the DY2000. Power supply mods may be in the future. I also plan to get a IEC power cord adapter and use a high quality power cord with the unit. I'll try to post more comments and some pics in the future.

This is not meant to be any sort of review, just posting some stuff!

Oh, and also, I have another Chinese DAC coming as well - the DIYEDEN Great March DAC. Along with Toslink/Coaxial inputs it also has USB. It's more than twice the cost of the Zhaolu and the dealer I bought it from claims it does sound even better than the Zhaolu. Will post comments on it as well:

http://216.239.37.104/translate_c?hl...%26rls%3Den-us

 

[pageman99]

Well, I've been following this thread and I see plenty of references to the balanced XLR outs, which I don't really need now, but no references to balanced inputs.

I'm running balanced from my SRC2496 into a DEQ2496 then the DEQ converts to analogue then out via XLR (using cables) to my Ear+ HD Purist.

I'd like to go right around the DEQ dac by running balanced digital out to a reasonably inexpensive DAC that would still upgrade the sound. The Zhalou might do the trick if it accepts balanced input.

Anybody know?

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean H Even now there isn't a glaring disparity between my Mapletree Audio Ear+ Purist HD/Ack dAck! 2.0 HI Res (drving Grado HF-1's) and the Zhaolu DAC/amp

Whoa, how close are we talking about here Sean? I really like the Ack! dAck! 2.0 with Hi Res cap upgrade. It's a nice source. But it doesn't have Toslink input, which ruled it out for me since I use my computer. That and because I cannot afford it.

 

[uzziah]

i'm going to go back and read the whole thread, but i'm curious if anyone who has one of these or has read the thread could post the general thoughts? is this a new best buy? is it still available? etc. etc.

ok, i read the whole thing. i think i'm sold. my budget is flexible. what should i get? i CAN diy later, but i'm a newbie solderer. should i use it just as a dac, and get a seperate amp? if i do that, i could get a portable amp that i could also use on the go. or should i use the Zhalou amp? if so, should i get the amp upgrade? what about the other upgrades? i'm not very technically minded. is there some sort of group buy? are these still available? any help would be great. originally i'd been planning to get the headroom microstack and use it at home and portably. if i get the zhalou i'd either get another portable amp, or just use the headphone out of my portable dap. anyway, at a bit of a conundrum, though this thread has been quite descriptive. any specific advice would be appreciated, thanks. oh, and my source is my PC foobar/kernal streaming FLAC, all that good stuff. if i get the Zhalou i suppose i'd pick up an av710 for the toslink.

 

[chat7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean H My Zhaolu has landed! Some of you may remember I acquired mine via a friend in China and so mine is in stock form but I did get the headphone upgrade. I've had it burning in for a little over 24 hours now. I must say it sounds fantastic and the headphone amp is excellent as well. Again it's an all discrete design and there are some pics of the amp upgrade posted earlier in this huge thread somehwere. Even now there isn't a glaring disparity between my Mapletree Audio Ear+ Purist HD/Ack dAck! 2.0 HI Res (drving Grado HF-1's) and the Zhaolu DAC/amp, it's a really nice sounding DAC and amp. I hope to burn it in for some time and make some comparisons to my other DAC's an damp. So far though, even in stock form, I have to say it's a great sounding unit. Initial random thoughts are it is fast, has tons of resolution, very open and layered sounding, and great deep bass. The headphone upgrade is excellent as well. Comparing the Zhaolu DAC/amp combo to Zhaolu DAC-->Mapletree tube amp proved inconclusive in early comparisons as they sounded surprisingly close in brief listening last night. My friend got a stock unit and while the stock headphone amp is actually surprisingly decent with Grado's, the headphone amp upgrade is discernably better sounding. I think the unit is very handsome and solidly built. It's dead quiet and works great. It came with a short Optical/Toslink cable, manual in Chinese and a warranty card also in Chinese. One thing I found interesting that I hadn't heard anyone mention is along with the RCA and balanced analog outputs it does have a set of RCA inputs, so I can actually use another DAC (like my Ack dAck) and use the Zhaolu strictly as a headphone amp only. Oh and mine is actually dubbed as Zhaolu D1.5, not 1.3. I believe that units shipped with the headphone amp upgrade are dubbed D1.5?? Not sure. I plan to swap out the OPA2604 opamps for OPA627's (my personal favorite opamp and the DY2000 can't be found outside of Lawrence's personal mods) and have a question about that. I noticed there are three opamps which I assume are left/right/ground channels, correct? Correct me otherwise if not. Question is, do I need to buy three 627's or just two for the left/right channel? The 627's should bring even more magic to the Zhaolu probably in similar ways to the DY2000. Power supply mods may be in the future. I also plan to get a IEC power cord adapter and use a high quality power cord with the unit. I'll try to post more comments and some pics in the future. This is not meant to be any sort of review, just posting some stuff! Oh, and also, I have another Chinese DAC coming as well - the DIYEDEN Great March DAC. Along with Toslink/Coaxial inputs it also has USB. It's more than twice the cost of the Zhaolu and the dealer I bought it from claims it does sound even better than the Zhaolu. Will post comments on it as well: http://216.239.37.104/translate_c?hl...%26rls%3Den-us

interested in the great march as well. PLZZZ review when you get it in hand.
btw, how much did you pay for this dac?

 

[Comfy]

I'm really considering purchasing the Zhaolu DAC, but I'm having a hard time choosing between upgrades.

I will get it maxed out, but I don't know if I should go PSU or headphone amp. You can't have both, and both cost pretty much the same.

Point is, I don't really now what benefits the better PSU would produce.
And I already own a DIY Millett Hybrid, running from a wall wart.

So if I went for the PSU, I'd have to keep the Millett, and buy some nice interconnects too, which would cost 50$ or so, I guess.

On the other hand, I like the idea of having my whole headphone setup in one box, and that's why the internal amp is appealing. I've also understood that it is based on the MOSFET design, and so I wonder if it is comparable to an M3 for example?

Does anyone know if this amp upgrade is better than a Millett? Or of similar quality?

I could just sell the Millett and get the DAC with upgraded amp, saving quite a lot of $.

What do you guys think? Zhaolu DAC with the amp upgrade or the PSU upgrade? Why?
Thanks.

 

[uzziah]

first, oops

secondly, i'm in exactly the same boat, and i'm waiting on more advice as well. i think there have only been a couple folks with the upgraded amp so far, and have given good reviews, but what i'd really like to see is the dac with upgraded amp VS dac + reasonable amp? very interested. cost is definitely an issue for me, and getting it all in one would be nice. i think if i did that i'd just do without an amp portably, which might be for the best anyway. waiting on more reviews, but i'm starting to paint a picture. there is also another thread "summary" of this one that might help

let me know what you decide, and i'll do likewise; if anyone would like to post more impressions, that would be great; it seems there are very mixed reviews of the basic amp, and things haven't really gotten flushed out yet.

 

[Comfy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah first, i think you're mistaken; it's not the psu or the amp, it's the clock OR the amp, right? secondly, i'm in exactly the same boat, and i'm waiting on more advice as well.

So, since we're in the same boat, here is a quote from Mr. Lawrence's e-mail:

"We also have headphone upgrade: $70. But due to limited space , you can
only choose either power supply upgrade or headphone upgrade . The DAC
already had a buildin headphone amp but we still have a PCB for headphone
upgrade , this board use famous MOS- FET ! for power output 2SK214 and 2SJ77
which many famous brand use it as a driving stage solid state amp eg
GOLDMOUND , COUNTERPOINT , LUXMAN , PS AUDIO , PERREAUX ......"

(When Mr. Lawrence says "headphone upgrade" he probably means "headphone amp upgrade"... I mean, you don't want to stick your HP-1000s inside the DAC, right?)

PSU or AMP upgrade?
Which one should we get?

TEAM SAME BOAT: "PSU OR AMP UPGRADE???"

 

[Sean H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat Whoa, how close are we talking about here Sean? I really like the Ack! dAck! 2.0 with Hi Res cap upgrade. It's a nice source. But it doesn't have Toslink input, which ruled it out for me since I use my computer. That and because I cannot afford it.

To me sources are always tough to compare if they are both very capable and higher quality. I am assuming my Zhaolu needs much more time to break in. At this point there are virtues I like in both DAC's. One very apparent thing I notice that is different between them at this point is the treble range and "air." When I go from the Zhaolu to the dAck I hear a much more diminished sense of treble detail and resolution where the dAck almost sounds rolled but one nice thing about that of course is it sounds very smooth. The dAck does seem to have maybe a touch more punch in the bass but the Zhaolu I think might have deeper bass. The Zhaolu also seems to have better separation and layering of sounds. I haven't done enough comparison at this point. Plus I want to get a good power cord on the Zhaolu and then get those OPA627 chips in there. The headphone amp is every bit as much of a surprise, it sounds very good and drives my HF-1's with authority.

 

[Comfy]

Thanks for the impressions on the upgrade amp, Sean. Sounds awesome.

And now for some n00b technical questions:

Would it be possible to upgrade the PSU later on?
Would it be possible to use a STEPS (or similar) as a PSU for the DAC?
Are STEPS available in separate cases?